In “Marrysong” by Dennis Scott, the poet uses imagery to reveal to the reader the difficulties that married people go through. For instance, the persona in the poem notes:
“She made wilderness again.” (7)
In this case, Scott uses the word “wilderness” to depict how the emotions of the persona’s wife are unstable. The term “wilderness” represents the excitement, danger, and unpredictability that come with love.
Another instance where Scott uses imagery to explain the difficulties associated with marriage is when he uses the term “quarried hurt” to explain the pain that is often linked to marriage. Quarries are sites that are used for extracting stone through the use of explosives. Here, the persona attempts to show the reader that he has deeply hurt his wife on many occasions.
The poet uses imagery to communicate in the poem “Marrysong” by comparing his wife to the ever-changing landscape, sometimes harsh and unforgiving like the “walled anger of her quarried heart” and other times calm and refreshing like a “cool water laughing”. He tries to map out his wife’s moods as if he was a geographer mapping out terrain, but he finds that “Roads disappeared” and the “map was never true.” The imagery uses helps to create a metaphorical meaning of the poem, where we understand that marriage is full of ups and downs.
The speaker chooses to “stay at home” with his wife, for better or worse, because his wife always keeps him guessing, keeping the excitement and mystery alive in their marriage. He accepts the “geography, constantly strange” so that he could continue to “find his way among the landscapes of her mind.” He stays in his marriage because he loves his wife and, like an explorer, wants to continue to discover and understand her. The poem creates a metaphor that shows how love is a journey that constantly changes, like the terrain. This imagery communicates that sometimes the road is rocky and dangerous, but other times it is not, which is why love is such an exciting journey.
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